lecture 8/25

Course Overview & Instructor Information

• Instructor Identity and Preferred Names:

  • Instructor: Maddie Richards (students may call her Maddie, Miss Maddie, Miss Richards, or Instructor Richards).

  • Prohibited Titles:

    • Doctor Richards (does not hold a PhD yet).

    • Professor Richards (does not hold this title).

    • Mrs. Richards (not married; single).

• Personal and Academic Background:

  • Pet: Has a cat named Christopher who has a tough palate and feline HIV; he is described as sickly but extremely sweet.

  • Hometown: Originally from Houston, Texas; grew up down the street from the Johnson Space Center.

  • Education: Completed both Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Texas State University. Currently a second-year PhD student at Tech studying post-1945 American literature, film, and media.

  • International Experience: Taught English abroad in Prague for one year; highly recommends study abroad programs to students.

• Course Context and Class Size:

  • Course: College Writing (Section 43).

  • Class Size: $50\text{ students}$. Unlike large General Education (Gen Ed) lecture classes at Tech, College Writing is one of the few small required general courses. The instructor aims to learn every student's name and face and serves as a general resource for college navigation, writing, and food recommendations.

• Table Tent Name Cards Procedure:

  • Purpose: To help the instructor memorize all $50\text{ student names}$ over the first $2\text{ to }3\text{ weeks}$ of class.

  • Construction Steps:

    1. Take a piece of paper (borrow from a neighbor if necessary).

    2. Fold the paper hamburger-style in the middle.

    3. Fold the outer sides inward to meet the middle crease, forming a triangular tent shape.

  • Display Rules:

    • Write first name in very large, thick block letters (using pen or pencil) facing the instructor. If illegible, the student will be required to remake it.

    • Draw an appropriate picture next to the name (strictly no anatomical drawings).

    • Students are required to bring their table tents to every class for the first $2\text{ to }3\text{ weeks}$. If forgotten, students must make a new one or state their name prior to being called on.

Class Communication & Office Hours Policies

• Meeting Location and Schedule:

  • Section: 43.

  • Days & Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, $03:30\text{ to }04:50$.

  • Room: Humanities 310.

• Instructor Contact Information:

  • Email Address: Must include two periods surrounding the 'c' (e.g., Madison.c.Richards formatting). Omitting the periods sends the email to a different individual at the university. Email address is also listed on the Canvas homepage.

  • Office Location: Humanities Building, 4th Floor (up the stairs, turn left, then turn right).

  • Office Hours: Mondays from $12:00\text{ to }03:00$ ($12:00\text{ PM to }3:00\text{ PM}$), or by appointment.

• Email Policies & Expectations:

  • Preferred Channel: Email is the primary and required method of communication. Do not send messages through Canvas, as they are not reliably received.

  • Response Window: Emails are answered exclusively during business hours ($08:00\text{ to }17:00$, Monday through Friday). Emails sent on Friday at $19:00$ ($7:00\text{ PM}$) will receive a response on Monday morning.

  • Syllabus Inquiries: If an emailed question is already answered in the syllabus document, the instructor will respond directly with the syllabus.

Required Course Materials & Technology Setup

• Online Textbook (Top Hat):

  • Title: Introduction to College Rhetoric (authored by the department chair; required for all section instructors).

  • Platform: Top Hat.

  • Grading Weight: $10\text{\%}$ of the final grade.

  • Canvas Integration Requirement: Access MUST initially be set up through Canvas on a desktop browser (click on Top Hat link below grades; click "open in a new window" if blocked by a pop-up blocker). Accessing it initially via phone or tablet will fail to sync responses to Canvas, resulting in loss of credit.

  • Cost & Trial: Includes a $5\text{-day}$ free trial (reduced from $2\text{ weeks}$ in prior semesters). Full access costs approximately $40\text{ dollars}$.

  • Technical Support: The instructor cannot resolve Top Hat technical issues. Students must contact Top Hat support directly via phone or email for rapid assistance.

• Word Processing & Digital Storage:

  • Software: Microsoft Word is strictly required. Google Docs is strictly prohibited. Free access to Microsoft Word is provided to students through TTU online.

  • Storage Device: Students must maintain a reliable computer and electronic storage media for all digital course files.

• Physical Writing Supplies:

  • Composition Notebook: Required for daily in-class quick writes.

  • Blue Books: Exactly $8\text{ blue books}$ are required for handwritten rough drafts and peer reviews. These are available at the campus bookstore for $96\text{ cents}$ each (including tax) and contain lined testing pages.

  • Writing Utensils: Pens and pencils.

Attendance, Absence, & Participation Policies

• Course Duration & Absence Limit:

  • The course runs for $14\text{ weeks}$.

  • Maximum Allowed Absences: Students are permitted up to $5\text{ absences}$.

  • Automatic Failure Threshold: Accumulating $6\text{ absences}$ ($3\text{ weeks}$ of missed classes) results in automatic failure of the course.

• University-Recognized Excused Absences:     Only two specific types of absences are excused per university policy:

  1. Observance of a religious holy day.

  2. Official university business (e.g., traveling for university athletic/marching band events).

• Unexcused Absences:

  • Medical illness (even with a doctor's note) is not recognized as an excused absence by university policy.

  • Car trouble/vehicle non-start, oversleeping, and personal issues/relationship breakups are unexcused.

  • Process work (in-class assignments, discussions, daily writes) missed due to unexcused absences cannot be made up under any circumstances, resulting in a score of $0$ for that day.

  • Strategic Advice: Save $1\text{ to }2\text{ absences}$ for genuine illness or emergencies rather than using them early in the semester.

Course Assignments, Submissions, & Late Work Policies

• Major Course Projects:     The course features five major projects throughout the semester:

  1. Summary and Synthesis.

  2. Rhetorical Analysis.

  3. Inquiry-Based Multimodal Project.

  4. Language or Ethnography.

  5. Final Self-Assessment.

• Course Schedule & Canvas Tracking:

  • Schedule updates posted on Canvas include the modification date (e.g., 09/01).

  • First assigned reading: An online article assigned for a Thursday class in September.

  • First major project deadline: September 20th, due before midnight ($11:59\text{ PM}$).

• Canvas Submission & Late Policy:

  • All major projects must be submitted via Canvas.

  • Technical Issues Policy: If Canvas submission fails near a deadline, the student must email the project to the instructor as an attachment before the deadline and continue attempting Canvas upload. Submitting late via email without prior notice (e.g., emailing at $04:00\text{ AM}$ after an $11:59\text{ PM}$ deadline) results in an immediate $10\text{ point}$ deduction.

  • Extension Requests: Requests for extensions must be submitted via email at least $48\text{ hours}$ prior to the assignment due date. Requests made on the day before or day of the deadline will be denied. Standard extension length is $24\text{ to }48\text{ hours}$.

  • Late Deductions:

    • $10\text{ points}$ deducted per day late.

    • Assignments submitted more than $1\text{ week}$ late receive a maximum grade penalty of $50\text{\%}$.

Academic Integrity, AI, & Classroom Conduct Policies

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy:

  • Strict Zero-AI Policy: The use of AI tools is completely prohibited for any aspect of coursework (including brainstorming, source searching, outlining, citation generation, or grammar checking).

  • Penalties:

    • First Offense: Score of $0$ on the assignment.

    • Second Offense: Automatic failure of the course and referral to the Academic Honor Council.

• Plagiarism & Copyright Regulations:

  • Plagiarism is strictly prohibited; all submitted work must be original student writing.

  • Course materials are the intellectual property of the instructor and must not be uploaded online without explicit permission.

  • Audio and video recording of class lectures or discussions is strictly prohibited unless authorized by formal Student Disability Services (SDS) accommodations.

• Classroom Conduct & Accommodations:

  • Civil, respectful dialogue is required; personal attacks, belittling, or disrespect will not be tolerated.

  • Students requiring accommodations should contact Student Disability Services (SDS); SDS will coordinate accommodations directly with the instructor.

Daily Class Routine, Handwriting Requirements, & Pedagogical Framework

• Standard Daily Class Structure:

  1. Quick Write ($10\text{ minutes}$): Writing continuously for the full $10\text{ minutes}$ in composition notebooks based on a prompt. If prompt material runs out before time expires, students must skip a line and continue writing on another school-appropriate topic.

  2. Sharing & Cold Calls: Instructor cold-calls on students (or takes volunteers) to share write-ups.

  3. Housekeeping: Class announcements and updates.

  4. Lecture: Brief lecture lasting $15\text{ to }20\text{ minutes}$.

  5. In-Class Process Work: Activities, peer review, pair work, group discussions, and process assignments.

  6. Wrap-Up: Summary or exit ticket.

• Handwriting Requirement & Submissions:

  • All in-class process work, daily quick writes, and peer review drafts must be handwritten.

  • Rough drafts for peer reviews must be handwritten directly into blue books.

  • Daily quick writes must be uploaded to Canvas by submitting clear photos or PDF scans (scanners such as KIC stations are available at the university library).

  • Handwriting must be completely legible; illegible submissions receive a grade of $0$.

  • Exception: Final major project submissions are the only typed assignments in the course.

• Pedagogical Rationale:

  • Scaffolding: Breaking large complex projects into smaller, guided components completed incrementally in class.

  • Rhetorical Competency: Training students to identify, analyze, practice, and reflect on rhetoric to build foundational writing and persuasive skills for academia and society.

  • Early Intervention: Students experiencing personal or academic difficulties must communicate early in the semester; grade adjustments or support cannot be rendered in the final $2\text{ weeks}$ of the term.